7 Things You Should Know If You Suffer From Chronic Low Self-Esteem
1. It’s not as noticeable as you think it is
In today’s society people are conditioned by the media to hold themselves to ridiculous standards, so while your low self-esteem may feel glaring obvious to you it’s a battle that many people are fighting around you. Honestly, the feeling that there is a sign on your forehead broadcasting your flaws is only that, a feeling.
2. It does affect your health
I was constantly told by parents, relatives and general people on the internet when I spent multiple hours looking it up, that it was ‘all in my head’. The truth is the way you see yourself affects your ability to go out, exercise, the way you eat, communicate and basically everything else you do in life, all of which affect both your physical and mental health.
3. Obsession is not your friend
Spending two hours in front of the mirror isn’t going to make your nose any straighter or your hips any smaller, scrolling through photos for hours on end isn’t going to make your skin any more tanned or your legs any longer. As difficult as it is, the healthiest thing to do is remove yourself from the situation, the more distracted you are the easier it is to overcome it.
4. You will never find someone who completely understands the way you feel
There will be people who say you are so negative about yourself for attention or because you want someone to contradict you because they simply can’t understand the way you feel about yourself. There will also be people who suffer from similar feelings but deal with it entirely differently. No one is programmed to deal with things the same and there is no catch-all solution.
5. You will, however, find people who make it easier
Surrounding yourself with people who lift you up is unbelievably important. Time and again it takes one hundred compliments to undo the work of one insult and having people around you who see and celebrate the beauty past the flaws is a wonderful thing. We are so often much better at seeing the beauty in others than ourselves.
6. There is nothing wrong with getting help
Whether professional or from friends, there is no shame in talking about it. Being at war with your own mind 24 hours a day can be exhausting and sometimes expressing your feelings out loud can be clarifying, if challenging. Don’t be afraid to open up to people, chances are they’ll understand it far more than you would expect.
7. It is not your defect, it is a part of you
Whether we like it or not, our low self-esteem affects our personality. Often this can have negative effects such as being withdrawn, depressed and generally unlike yourself, but it can also affect us positively. The compassion we are capable of feeling is intense, our emotional strength worked out on a daily basis, our happiness valued so much more highly than before. We are fighters, and that is something to be proud of.